Waxing

[skidude]

Hmm I will look at it soon, but that does seem bad for the skis. I would just get some rub on Swix F4 stuff, that stuff is pretty good (for rub on)

[Justo8484]

yeah what i meant was to hotwax your stuff before the comp, then between runs throw some zardoz crap on i guess, but i have been using swix paste wax and a sponge that comes with it, seems to have worked decent last year.

[pyro_boarder]

For any one interested in starting to hot wax their own equipment, you can get an iron at walmart for just over $5.

Edited December 1, 2004 by pyro_boarder

[AtomicSkier]

For any one interested in starting to hot wax their own equipment, you can get an iron at walmart for just over $5.

 

make sure it is NOT an iron with holes in it.

[skidude]

It doesn't have to be without holes...Just don't pay more for one that has holes

[PeterC0523]

It sure seems like you are ruining your board to go fast for a short time, if you follow directions carefully.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Are you saying that the base cleaner will ruin your board or the stone grinding?

[skidude]

The basecleaner will take all the wax you worked soo hard on putting in right out. As will the stone grind. So basicly you are ruining all your hard work, so you can put some rub on wax on and have it work better.

[PeterC0523]

The basecleaner will take all the wax you worked soo hard on putting in right out.  As will the stone grind.  So basicly you are ruining all your hard work, so you can put some rub on wax on and have it work better.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

In general, if you're using base cleaner with the intention of removing all the old wax and cleaning the base... is base cleaner harmful to your base?

 

If I plan on waxing my board every 3 trips or so, would you recommend using base cleaner, or just multiple coats of wax?

[skidude]

You wax so your board is faster. The more wax that is in the base of your board(s) the faster you will go. If you use basecleaner, you are basicly starting over with a fresh board (no wax) again.

 

I STRONGLY recomend waxing your board, and while the wax is still warm (but not still melted) scraping it off, then waxing it again, and letting that wax sit on overnight.

[PeterC0523]

I STRONGLY recomend waxing your board, and while the wax is still warm (but not still melted) scraping it off, then waxing it again, and letting that wax sit on overnight.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Approximately how long should you wait to scrape off the warm wax?

 

Should the wax be soft to the touch, or hard but warm?

 

Started tuning my board last season, still trying to figure out the fine details.

Edited December 1, 2004 by PeterC0523

[insomniac]

It's all practice man. Just try it out a few times and you'll get the hang of it.

[Ski]

There's no such thing as bad or dirty wax "inside" your board. Unless you are doing P-Tex repair work on a spot, there's no reason to dry out your board by using a cleaner. The only cleaning I'd recommend is to whipe your board down (especially when you get a warm spell and the snow reveals oil and other pollution), then hot wax and scrape.

 

After hot waxing, you can stick your board outside to cool. A race-prep wax should be left overnight, but you can just wait a couple of hours for it to be cool.

 

And as for the Zardoz instructions to regularly use a base cleaner: dumb. It makes no sense.

As to Zardoz saying to stone grind perfectly flat, so their product works better: yikes! Stone grinding is a process used for a couple of reasons, such as when you get base high from your edges (the base seems convex), or when you need restructuring...stone grinding initially makes you slower, since it creates tiny hills and valleys in your base that are sharp at first, especially if you don't use a bronze/steel brush to smooth them down a bit. But a base needs the texture in the bottom. They are water channels that keep suction from building up. You want the water to pass smoothly along under your base. A perfectly flat base would work like a suction cup. So Zardoz is saying to create a flat base that will be sticky, but use their product to fix that problem.

'Dude's suggestion of a Swix F4X Universal paste is a much better quick prep way to go. Or crayon on a regular wax and cork it in, then scrape.

[soldier32]

yea but all of that is really technical. if you dont race, why would you need to worry about this since you're not waxing for speed, your just waxing to keep your base in good condition and to keep it from drying out

[skidude]

There's no such thing as bad or dirty wax "inside" your board. Unless you are doing P-Tex repair work on a spot, there's no reason to dry out your board by using a cleaner.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ski, is it better to use base cleaner on places you are going to PTEX before you do it?

[insomniac]

yea but all of that is really technical.  if you dont race,  why would you need to worry about this since you're not waxing for speed,  your just waxing to keep your base in good condition and to keep it from drying out

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Eff my base. I wax for speed.

[AtomicSkier]

Eff my base. I wax for speed.

 

but you wax your base! so if you want to go fast, take care of your base.... your base is to skiing as tires are to your car. If you have sqaure tires, you're not going anywhere. If you have an uneven, unwaxed, unstructured base, you're going nowhere.

[insomniac]

I wax on occasion. But I dont do it regularly like you guys. I probably will this season though. But, I ski off the trail alot, and on random things, so my bases get worked.

[Ski]

Yeah, 'Dude, use a little base cleaner in the spot where you are going to repair. It makes it adhere better.

And nobody has to wax. There's no rule about it. Anybody is welcome to let their boards oxidize. But this thread began with someone asking about waxing.

Waxing isn't just for racing. Waxing makes your skis/boards glide and turn better. Bad edges are like driving a car that's out of alignment; no wax is like driving with underinflated tires.

[pyro_boarder]

make sure it is NOT an iron with holes in it. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

ops. Why can't it be an Iron with holes in it? If I cover the holes with a soda can do you think it will explode?

[skidude]

ops.  Why can't it be an Iron with holes in it?  If I cover the holes with a soda can do you think it will explode?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Haha not sure if this was a sarcastic question. But you can use an iron with holes in it. The wax will plug up the holes, but that won't effect the quality at all. Go for price

[soldier32]

what im saying though is that you guys are coming from a different perspective than we are. you guys race, so you want your bases to be as perfect as possible and your edges to be nice and sharp for holding turns. people who ride park and freestyle just give a basic wax to keep the base in decent shape since it gets destroyed from rails anyway. and we actually detune our edges in the center of our board to prevent hanging up when sliding rails, well i know at least i do as well as a lot of park riders

Edited December 2, 2004 by NITRO_rider

[Ski]

what im saying though is that you guys are coming from a different perspective than we are.  you guys race,  so you want your bases to be as perfect as possible and your edges to be nice and sharp for holding turns.  people who ride park and freestyle just give a basic wax to keep the base in decent shape since it gets destroyed from rails anyway.  and we actually detune our edges in the center of our board to prevent hanging up when sliding rails, well i know at least i do as well as a lot of park riders

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I know what you're saying. I leave a trail of blood sometimes when I'm carrying my race skis, the edges are so sharp that I cut my hands a lot. They teach that "more isn't necessarily better", but I hate the feeling of skidding on ice. When I bump skied (on straight skis), we used to detune the tails and tips and I always used the most convenient wax I could find. But the Zardoz web site kind of pisses me off when they devote a page to a kid that came up with a "great" idea that actually screws up ski/boards.

I've been to races where people that can't carve a turn are rubbing $25 worth of pure fluoro on their bases. And they are just doing it because everyone else is.

[pyro_boarder]

Haha not sure if this was a sarcastic question.  But you can use an iron with holes in it.  The wax will plug up the holes, but that won't effect the quality at all.  Go for price

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The first question was serious and the second one is half serious, thats good cause the iron i have has holes and I got it for $5 so it dosen't matter if they get cloged up.

[sibhusky]

The first question was serious and the second one is half serious,  thats good cause the iron i have has holes and I got it for $5 so it dosen't matter if they get cloged up.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Well, just remember if you don't already have an iron with the holes all plugged up with wax to buy either one without holes OR wait until the holes are filled up with cheap wax before using fluoro or you'll be losing a lot of that pricey stuff filling up holes!

[Justo8484]

the thing you have to worry about with an iron with holes in it is that wax doesnt get into those holes to the inner parts of the iron. thats when your gonna have problems with the iron catching on fire.... not good stuff. and yeah basically i wax my base for speed, not to keep the base in good condition, thats near impossible when you slide rails, picnic tables, and other random things. but thankfully i have 2 pairs of skis this year so i will be a little kinder to the 4FRNTs.